Education news of interest in Central Kentucky
Awards/honors
▪ Leestown Middle School was Kentucky’s runner-up in the school division of the Keep America Beautiful Recycle Bowl’s national competition. Cardinal Valley Elementary placed 15th, and Ashland Elementary was 17th. In addition, Mary Todd Elementary was recognized nationally in the community division rankings. Last fall, Cardinal Valley and Wellington elementaries set the pace for Fayette County Public Schools in collecting and recycling the most aluminum cans per student. Altogether, students and teachers from more than 1,250 elementary, middle and high schools recycled 4 million pounds of material during the 2015 nationwide contest, which ran Oct. 19 through Nov. 15. The goal is to teach students the importance of waste prevention and recycling. For more information, go to Recycle-bowl.org.
▪ Two sophomores from Paul Laurence Dunbar High School will represent the state in public forum debate at the National Speech & Debate Association’s national competition in June in Salt Lake City. David Ma and Sahar Mohammadzadeh qualified based on their performance in the Kentucky District tournament March 18 and 19 at Centre College. Students competed in eight speech and four debate categories, with the top two entries in each event moving on to nationals.
▪ In Destination Imagination state competition, the “not a rainy day” team of Fayette County freshmen tallied a 98.5 on their Instant Challenge, the highest score among all Kentucky and Ohio teams participating March 19. The group, guided by team managers Kelly Telech and Mona Azeem, included Paul Laurence Dunbar High School students Hannah Broomhall, Neal Rekhraj and Adam Telechbush, and STEAM Academy students Brenden Talbert and Shamik Chandrachood. The team qualified for the global finals in Knoxville in May.
▪ In this spring’s Region 7 archery tournament, Lafayette High School was runner-up in the field of 13 and qualified for the KHSAA state competition April 21. Paul Laurence Dunbar finished fifth, Henry Clay was sixth, Tates Creek was 10th and Bryan Station 11th.
Among individual archers, Dunbar’s Chris Natale topped the boys’ high school group with a score of 297, and Korbin Jackson of Lafayette was second with a 293. The Generals’ Hunter Delong was eighth, and Ben Maddox placed ninth. On the girls’ side, Dunbar’s Victoria Sellers was runner-up in the high school field with a score of 290, and teammate Hannah Fitzpatrick was third with a 287. Lafayette’s Alyson Wade and Dunbar’s Ashley Liu tied for fifth place, Tates Creek’s Zoe Fister finished eighth, and Lafayette’s Helena Cybriwsky was ninth.
▪ Students in the veterinary assistant program at Locust Trace AgriScience Center have marked back-to-back years with a 100 percent pass rate on the national certification exam. Twenty-nine students took the test the week before spring break, and all are now National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America-approved.
Members of the latest group are Amanda Harris, Jessie Castillo, Aracely Marin, Audrey Noel, Joyia Burrus, Sarah Elliott, Sammantha Lumbi, Claire Campbell, Shapree Hightower, Shawndulynn James, John Gosper, Angel Black, Trey Paskovics, Daniel McCracken, Trevor Arvin, Corey Edwards, Kristian Lawson, Mary Crocetti, Michelle Meza, Kayla Collins, Domenique Callaway, Grace Kelly, Caroline Wright, Jordyn Jackson, Alli Rankin, Aisha Conwell, Maribeth Nichols, Braxton Minke and Tasha McIntosh.
▪ Daniel Klapheke, an Eastern Kentucky University junior, is one of four students in the United States selected for the first summer internship program offered through the International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors. He will intern at the Illinois Valley News in Cave Junction, Ore.
Klapheke, from Cynthiana, is managing editor of The Eastern Progress student newspaper and has interned at The Falmouth Outlook in Northern Kentucky. He is a journalism and broadcast/electronic media double major and honors student, and plans to graduate in May 2017.
Interns will work 40 hours a week for eight weeks and be paid $3,200, with half coming from the newspaper and half from the society’s foundation.
▪ Richard Day has been elected by his peers as faculty regent at Eastern Kentucky University. Day, associate professor of educational foundations in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, serves as chair of the Faculty Senate. He will join the Board of Regents at its April 27 meeting.
▪ Shirley O’Brien, a professor in the department of occupational science and occupational therapy, has received the 2016-18 EKU Foundation Professorship, the university’s highest honor for teaching excellence. The annual honor recognizes someone who demonstrates outstanding abilities in the three primary roles of a faculty member: teaching, service and research. The professorship provides a salary supplement for two years.
▪ The master’s degree program in occupational therapy at Eastern Kentucky University ranks among the nation’s best, according to U.S. News and World Report. The magazine recently ranked the EKU program as tied for 37th nationally. No other graduate OT program in Kentucky ranked in the top 50.
The EKU master’s degree program in OT admits up to 80 students a year, the majority coming from Central and Eastern Kentucky.
For more information about all the programs offered through EKU’s department of occupational science and occupational therapy, including a bachelor’s degree in occupational science, visit Ot.eku.edu.
▪ The Leadership Lexington Youth Program presented its 2016 Distinguished Leader Award to Josephine Wendroth of Lafayette High School.
The program encourages high school juniors to network with community leaders and to explore local issues, post-secondary options, career fields and business opportunities. This year’s class was comprised of 45 students.
▪ Imaginative students from Fayette County Public Schools turned in outstanding efforts for the 2016 Bluegrass Regional High School Art Exhibition. Lafayette’s Annie Kane earned overall best of show honors for her drawing Alice; Zoe Ruth Felice got best of show 2-D for her drawing My Mouse; and Lilly Pendley received the Chair’s Award for a digital media piece called 3 Cross Ways. Two students won Art Education/AESA Awards: Jordan Long of Bryan Station for the sculpture Merlin and Alexis May of Henry Clay for French Kiss in ceramics.
Young artists from several counties entered the Bluegrass contest, sponsored by the Kentucky Art Education Association and Eastern Kentucky University department of art and design. The Giles Gallery on EKU’s Richmond campus hosted a reception April 3.
Other FCPS students also finished as follows:
Ceramics – first place, Lily C. Wright, Bryan Station, Carousel*; honorable mention, Dara Talbott, Henry Clay, When life gives you lemons then what?
Digital media – first place, Miguel Gutierrez, Lafayette, A Walk in the Park*; second, Jacqueline Rushing, Lafayette, Paperdoll
Drawing – third, Megan Andrews, Henry Clay, Francisco; fourth, Emma Guinnip, Lafayette, Lego Drawing; honorable mention, Michael Lozovoy, Lafayette, Retaliation
Fiber Arts/Textile – first place, Terence Powell, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Man, Woman, and Child*; second, Jessie Durbin, Dunbar, Untitled
Graphic Design – first place, Cavan Hendron, Bryan Station, Psycho*; second, Cavan Hendron, The Shining
Mixed Media – second, Zoe Ruth Felice, Lafayette, Terrain*
Painting – second, Madison Kelley, Lafayette, Distracted*; third, Sophia Bell, Bryan Station, Sam Buys a Boat; fourth, Grace England, Lafayette, Café Table; honorable mention, Jaime Trujillo, Henry Clay, Rainbow Queen Princess Ninja
Photography – first place, Melanie Noe, Henry Clay, Feminism*; second, Chase Halberson, Lafayette, And then there was one; third, Cheyenne Dann, Bryan Station, Sam’s Big Day; honorable mention, Jacob McDaniel, Bryan Station, Light
Printmaking – first place, Taylor Stewart, Henry Clay, Self-Portrait*; second, Taylor Stewart, Ten Tickles*; honorable mention, Alyson Cruse, Henry Clay, Polluting the Homeland
Sculpture – first place, Madison Lewis, Bryan Station, Genesis*; third, Courtney Smith, Dunbar, Untitled
Video – Cooper Boss, Henry Clay, Sparrow: A Program on Overcoming Grief*
Sixteen pieces from FCPS (the five big winners and those marked with an asterisk, advanced to the All-State Art Show, which will be on display at Behringer Crawford Museum in Covington through April 24.
▪ The Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council has selected Fayette County Public Schools for its 2016 Best of Green Schools award in the school system category. This national honor salutes how FCPS has embraced the three-pillar model of sustainability to holistically address environmental literacy, building performance and student wellness, and leverages its students’ passion and leadership in all three areas. These efforts are spearheaded by district staffers Tresine Logsdon, Logan Poteat and Debbie Boian. For more details, visit Sustainability.fcps.net.
The Best of Green Schools awards recognize the people, schools, campuses and organizations that instigate positive change by creating healthier, sustainable and more efficient learning environments, as well as inspiring educational experiences. The 11 honorees, celebrated at the recent Green Schools Conference & Expo in Pittsburgh, go beyond modeling sustainable practices and have made green schools a part of their platform and legacy.
▪ Caroline Engle, Jason Schubert and Tanya Torp recently were honored at the Hilary J. Boone Center atthe University of Kentucky with 2016 Algernon Sydney Sullivan Medallions.
Engle will receive two degrees from UK’s College of Agriculture, Food and Environment in May — a bachelor’s degree in natural resources and environmental science with a concentration in economic policy and climate science, and a bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics.
Schubert is executive director of UK’s Center for Community Outreach, which is the highest leadership role a student can hold in the organization.
Torp is a local activist, community organizer, motivational speaker, trainer and entrepreneur. She is also program director at Step by Step and the founder and CEO of Be Bold.
▪ Four students from Fayette County Public Schools were among the top award winners in the 2016 Kentucky Science & Engineering Fair. Best of Fair honors went to Kyra Seevers of Paul Laurence Dunbar High School; Meena Ambati of Winburn Middle School won first place in life sciences; Quincy Winkler of Morton Middle School, second in life sciences; and Kylie Schmidt of Winburn, third in physical sciences.
First-place winners (categories)
Animal sciences: Megan Slusarewicz, Dunbar; and Meena Ambati, Winburn
Earth and environmental sciences: Andrew Lewis, Bryan Station Middle School
Energy/physical: Grace Goff, Beaumont Middle
Engineering mechanics: Kyra Seevers, Dunbar
Material sciences: Kylie Schmidt, Winburn
Physics and astronomy: Ronit Kar, Dunbar
Plant sciences: Adil Yusuf, Dunbar; and Quincy Winkler, Morton.
Other awards
Dr. Bob Creek Award: Khushi Borikar of Winburn Middle School, earth and environmental science, life science division
Army earth and environmental sciences: Ashley Liu,Paul Laurence Dunbar High School
U.S. Metric Association/materials science: Brenna Wallin, Lafayette High School
Broadcom MASTERS Middle School Awards: Andrew Lewis of Bryan Station and Kylie Schmidt of Winburn
▪ The Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science in Kentucky at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green has selected 100 Kentucky sophomores for the Class of 2018.
Applicants were evaluated based on ACT/SAT scores, high school grades, awards, extracurricular activities, responses to essay and short answer questions, and letters of recommendation.
Students from 50 counties represent the Class of 2018. Morgan County will have a student attend The Gatton Academy for the first time.
The goal of The Gatton Academy is to enable Kentucky’s exceptional young scientists and mathematicians to learn in an environment that offers advanced educational opportunities, preparing them for leadership roles in Kentucky. The Gatton Academy is Kentucky’s first state-supported, residential program for high school students with interests in advanced science and math careers, and one of only 15 such programs in the nation. In 2012 and 2013, Newsweek named The Gatton Academy the nation’s top public high school, and in 2014 The Daily Beast named The Gatton Academy the nation’s top public high school.
Area students selected for The Gatton Academy’s Class of 2018:
Austin Gabhart, Anderson County High School, son of Daniel and Carrie Gabhart of Lawrenceburg; Harper Sewalls, Model Lab School, son of Travis and Andra Sewalls of Winchester; David Ewing, Henry Clay High School, son of Robert and Tanya Ewing of Lexington; Leslie Shannon, Lafayette High School, daughter of Steve and Martha Shannon of Lexington; John Taylor, Lafayette High School, son of Frank and Kimberly Taylor of Lexington; Brian Zhu, Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, son of Haining and Mingqiang Zhu of Lexington; Nikitha Rajendra, Franklin County High School, daughter of Narayanan and Preetha Rajendran of Frankfort; Daniela Zieba, Sayre School, daughter of Piotr and Sonya Zieba of Nicholasville; Maxwell Diener, Scott County High School, son of John and Sarah Diener of Georgetown; and Grayson Fuller, Woodford County High School, son of John and Lynn Fuller of Versailles.
▪ Music for All has selected Claire Howell, a sophomore at Lafayette High School, to participate in the Bands of America Honor Band in the 2017 Tournament of Roses Parade. Claire was chosen from among hundreds of applicants for this 300-piece national ensemble of winds, percussion, and a flag and dance team. Her band director at Lafayette is Chuck Smith and color guard instructor is Emily Duncan.
Miscellaneous
▪ The inaugural Lafayette Band Pride of the Bluegrass 5K and 1-mile Fun Run/Walk are set for 8:30 a.m. April 30 at the high school, 401 Reed Lane. Participants will start and finish on the football field’s 50-yard line to raise money for the Lafayette Band Association. The event will feature commemorative T-shirts, chip timing by 3 Way Racing (5K), overall and age group awards, a deejay, and refreshments afterward.
Area high school bands are invited to participate in the Bands on the Run Challenge. Register five or more runners or band boosters for a chance to take home top prizes in the 5K. Combined times will be added for the top five runners. Register at: Runsignup.com/Race/Events/KY/Lexington/LafayetteBandPrideoftheBluegrass5K1MileFunRunWalk#event-82757.
Personnel
▪ Chris Bowersock has been named director of the Small Business Development Center at Eastern Kentucky University. He served the past two years as an assistant vice president for Commercial Bank in his hometown of West Liberty, where he managed a commercial loan portfolio of more than $10 million and directed a business incubator, among other duties.
This story was originally published April 18, 2016 at 9:38 AM with the headline "Education news of interest in Central Kentucky."